The Company of Clever Women
by ariel2me
Summary: "Alysanne would like that," the king said. "She enjoys the company of clever women." (Fire & Blood) Alysanne Targaryen & Florence Fossoway, "the apple counter" and de facto master of coin.


_It was Septon Barth who first proposed a different name. […] "Martyn [Tyrell] is young and eager, but I will not vouch for the quality of his wits. His wife, however, is a Fossoway girl, the Lady Florence, who has been counting apples since she learned to walk. She has been keeping all the accounts at Highgarden since her marriage, and it is said she has increased House Tyrell's incomes by a third. Should we appoint her husband, she would come to court as well, I do not doubt." (Fire & Blood)_

 _The cost of all this was not inconsiderable, to be sure, but the realm was prosperous, and the king's new master of coin, Martyn Tyrell—aided and abetted by his clever wife, "the apple counter"—proved almost as able as the Lord of Air had been. (Fire & Blood)_

* * *

"Does it not bother you, Lady Florence, to be called the apple counter?" the queen asked, the second time she invited Florence to sup with her. It was just the two of them having supper together this time, without either of their husbands in attendance.

With a wry smile, Florence replied, "It is probably inevitable, Your Grace, considering the sigil of my House. For the sake of my own peace of mind, I choose to regard it as a compliment, not an insult."

The queen's eyes glittered. "Ahhh … the red apple of House Fossoway. I have to confess to inappropriately _coveting_ an apple each time I see the banner of your House. The sight of it never fails to tempt me, for your red apple looks so lusciously ripe and mouth-wateringly delicious."

"And scrumptiously seductive, I have heard it being called that as well," said Florence.

Queen Alysanne giggled, a girlish giggle that surprised Florence. Years suddenly seemed to be erased from Her Grace's wan countenance. The unexpected death of Princess Daenerys of the shivers had hit the queen hard, Florence had learned, and Her Grace had only recently begun attending court functions and council meetings again.

"And did you really learn your sums by counting apples?" the queen continued her barrage of questions, her curiosity about Florence not yet sated, it seemed.

( _She will wish to know everything there is to know about you, my lady, not just who and what you are, but of more importance to Her Grace, what you think and feel about the world, and about your place in the world. Do not try to play coy or dissemble, for the queen is a very shrewd judge of character._ Jonquil Darke, the queen's sworn shield, had imparted this piece of advice to Florence soon after her arrival in court.)

"Alas, no, I did not learn my sums by counting apples, Your Grace," Florence answered. "Our old maester at Cider Hall was not that bold or imaginative, I'm afraid. He preferred the quill-and-parchment method of teaching, sanctioned by the Citadel, and would not deviate even an inch from it. But later, my lady mother made use of red apples and green apples to teach me the fundamentals of balancing a castle's account. That was the most important lesson I ever learned."

"How intriguing. Tell me more, Lady Florence."

"Well, my mother used a barrel of red apples and a barrel of green apples to illustrate her point. She told me to think of the red apples as the castle's expenses. The wages of the servants and men-at-arms, the costs of food and other raw materials, the costs of repairing and maintaining the castle, and so on."

"And the green apples?"

"The green apples are the castle's incomes."

"Taxes, customs, duties and the likes."

Florence nodded, and then said, "Though, in Cider Hall, our biggest source of income is the profit from the sale of our fearsomely strong cider. The point, my mother taught me, is to ensure that we have more green apples than red apples. That we are _in the green_ , so to speak, and not _in the red_ , for being in the red means being in debt."

Alysanne was enthralled. "How wonderful! It is a very simple yet exceedingly clear and clever way of explaining the basics of balancing a castle's account. Your mother must be a remarkable woman."

"She is, Your Grace. I am both fortunate and proud to be born as her daughter."

"What is your mother's name, if I may ask?"

"Lady Flora, born of the junior branch of House Fossoway. She is a Fossoway by birth and marriage both."

"Flora and Florence. It reminds me of Alyssa and Alysanne. We are both the daughters of remarkable women." The queen added, in a softer, quieter voice, half-whispering the words to herself, "Though we might not have fully realized and appreciated that fact while our mothers were still alive."

 _While our mothers were still alive?_ Florence's mother was still very much alive, unlike the queen's mother, but Florence thought it would be exceedingly cruel to point this out to the queen.

After taking a deep breath to compose herself, Her Grace asked, "How is the state of the crown's coffer, Lady Florence? Are we in the green, or in the red?"

"In the green, for now, Your Grace. But the road-building project across the realm will incur a substantial cost. To ensure that the crown _remains_ in the green …"

"Incomes must also increase to keep up with the increase in expenses?"

"Precisely, Your Grace. There are many ways to increase the crown's incomes, of course."

The queen frowned, as she said, "My great fear is, that these methods to increase the crown's incomes would place a substantial burden on the least fortunate in the realm, on those who could afford it the least."

"It does not have to be that way, Your Grace. My successful scheme for increasing the incomes of Highgarden, for instance, did not rely on increasing taxes for farmers and smallfolk. A comparable scheme could be devised to increase the crown's incomes, I have no doubt."

"Tell me more, Lady Florence."

Florence spoke up for some time, while the queen listened with rapt attention. After Florence had completed her explanation, the queen declared, "It is _you_ who truly deserve to be named as master of coin, who truly deserve a place in your own right in my husband's council. I do not mean to slight your husband, for Lord Martyn is a kind, good and godly man, and he is the soul of chivalry itself, but … well ..." the queen's voice trailed off into a long silence.

After searching her heart, and carefully considering her response, Florence finally said, "I am a human being like any other, Your Grace. No doubt, I would like to be acknowledged, appreciated and valued for my talent, ability, hard work and accomplishment. But I am also a realist at heart. The time is not yet right, I'm afraid. The previous master of coin was murdered for nothing more than being a man of foreign birth. If a woman is appointed to replace him –"

"– there might be _another_ murder, and another revolt in the streets of King's Landing."

Florence nodded.

The queen continued, "I dream of a day when a qualified woman could hold _any_ position in the king's council, in her own right, without her husband or her male kin being named to that position as her proxy. But perhaps that day is still long in coming."

"This is a start, Your Grace. Your husband is the first king to entrust the financial affairs of the realm in the hands of a woman, even if it is not done directly. Future kings or queens might go a step or many steps further, and our daughters might live to see a woman serving not just as master of coin, but perhaps even as Hand of the King someday."

The queen smiled. "You are right, Lady Florence. It is a start, yes, and we must work together to ensure that it will _not_ be the end."

"Let us drink to that," Florence said.


End file.
